Hearings

In his Dec. 17 article, "Parking agents are no-shows," Peter Hermann informs his readers about a day in Baltimore City District Court, at the Patapsco Avenue location, when 75 parking tickets were dismissed because the parking agents did not appear in court. The mandate of the District Court of Maryland, a part of the Maryland Judiciary, is to adjudicate disputes, in a process providing equal and exact justice for all of the litigants; it does not and should not favor one litigant over another, even when one of them is a government entity.

By Yvonne Wenger and Kevin Rector and The Baltimore Sun | October 9, 2014

City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young called Monday for a hearing on whether the city should charge passengers a fee to ride the Charm City Circulator, the popular bus service that now connects more than 4 million Baltimoreans and visitors to work, school and entertainment in the city for free. Young wants to review the $7 million annual cost of running the service and determine whether the city can afford it. But his suggestion of charging $1 a trip drew criticism from riders and others.

Marylanders may comment on the merger between Constellation Energy Group and Chicago-based Exelon Corp. at hearings scheduled in Bel Air, Baltimore and Annapolis. The Maryland Public Service Commission will entertain public comment at hearings in the Rotunda of Town Hall of Bel Air on Nov. 29, the Wohlman Assembly Hall of the War Memorial Building in Baltimore on Dec. 1 and the Joint Committee Hearing Room of the Department of Legislative Services Building in Annapolis on Dec. 5. All the hearings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Residents may also send written comments to the commissioners by Dec. 9. Signed comments should be addressed to David J. Collins, Executive Secretary, Maryland Public Service Commission, William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 St. Paul St., 16th Floor, Baltimore 21202.

The NFL announced Thursday that former United States District Judge Barbara S. Jones has been appointed by the league to hear and decide the suspension appeal filed by the NFL Players Association on behalf of Ray Rice. “We are grateful to Judge Jones for taking on this role,” said league commissioner Roger Goodell, who suspended the former Ravens running back indefinitely after video came out Sept. 8 of Rice assaulting his then-fiancee. “She will have our full cooperation as she hears and decides this appeal.” Goodell was asked by the players' union to recuse himself from the hearing because he'll likely be a witness in the case.

The Maryland Senate turned back efforts Thursday to allow taping of committee voting sessions and to make it more likely that people who come to Annapolis to testify on bills will be heard. On the recommendation of the Rules Committee, senators rejected an effort by Sen. Allan Kittleman, a Howard County Republican, to make public an audio record of the discussions that take place before committees vote on whether to kill bills or let them move to the floor for action. The vote was 41-6 against.

The Orioles have not gone before an arbitration panel with a player since prior to the 2006 season, but with potential hearing dates approaching, it's becoming more likely that that trend will be broken. According to multiple sources, the Orioles have tentative hearings scheduled with right-handed starter Jeremy Guthrie on Monday, Feb. 6, with swingman Brad Bergesen on Wednesday, Feb. 8, and with center fielder Adam Jones on Friday, Feb. 17. All are scheduled for mornings at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg, Fla. Guthrie is the first on the slate for the Orioles and seemingly is the most likely to go before the three-person arbitration panel. Guthrie, who was 9-17 with a 4.33 ERA and made $5.75 million in 2011, has proposed a $10.25 million contract for 2012 while the Orioles countered with $7.25 million.

Marylanders will get a chance to make their views known at a pair of upcoming hearings on whether fishing for Atlantic menhaden ought to be curtailed to protect "the most important fish in the sea," as some have dubbed it. Hearings are scheduled from Oct. 16 through Nov. 1 from Maine to North Carolina on whether to cut commercial harvest of menhaden, and if so by how much. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is weighing reductions of...

The Annapolis city council has scheduled hearings this month on controversial plans for City Dock. The hearings, set for July 25, come after a bill to rezone part of the downtown dock and a redevelopment proposal drew protests. The developer withdrew the redevelopment proposal. The hearings are to focus on a new master plan for City Dock, whether to form a committee to study how the plan would be implemented, and a proposal to rezone a property on Compromise Street. Council members are also scheduled to discuss the City Dock during a work session on July 18. Alderman Kenneth Kirby said the work session will be helpful to help residents - and officials - sort through the debate about City Dock.

I watched a large portion of yesterdays special Senate hearings into Goldman Sachs role in the recent financial collapse. I came away with the feeling that the country might be better served if it was run by the Goldman folks rather than by the buffons running the hearing. It was apparent from the start that the committee members were practically drooling to get into the faces of the Goldman reps. It was also apparent that,other than Sen. Colburn, they knew practically nothing about how a firm like Goldman Sachs operates.

Barring a last minute change, the Orioles are expected to go to arbitration hearings with starter Jeremy Guthrie and swingman Brad Bergesen -- which would be the first time the club has met with the three-person, independent panel since before the 2006 season. Guthrie's hearing is Monday morning, Bergesen's is Wednesday morning and both will be at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Orioles also could face a hearing Feb. 17 with center fielder Adam Jones, but the sense is that it could be settled before the hearing date.

Peter Ginsberg, the attorney for ex-Ravens running back Ray Rice, praised former U.S. District Court Judge Barbara S. Jones, the hearing officer for Rice's appeal of an indefinite NFL suspension. Jones was appointed Thursday by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in consultation with NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith to hear the appeal of Rice. Rice's two-game suspension was increased to an indefinite ban on Sept. 8 after a video surfaced of him punching his then-fiancee in a casino elevator.

The Maryland Transit Administration is seeking public input on changes to its bus system in Baltimore and the surrounding area, including two proposals that would link Dundalk with downtown and serve the new Amazon distribution center on Broening Highway. Under one proposal, a new route No. 31 would run between State Center Metro Station and the Dundalk campus of the Community College of Baltimore County through Harbor East, Fells Point and Canton. The line would run every 30 minutes on weekdays.

The case involving an Anne Arundel County elementary school student suspended last year after nibbling a pastry into the shape of a gun went before the county school board Wednesday, the latest attempt by the boy's parents to have the incident removed from his record. Joshua Welch, then a second-grader at Park Elementary school in Brooklyn Park, received a two-day suspension in March 2013 in a matter that drew national attention. The school system has argued that Joshua, who is now 9 and has been transferred to another school, was suspended not solely for the incident but for a series of behaviors.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts sailed through a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, with City Council members and residents praising his accessibility and moves toward reform. At this time last year, Batts faced questions from city leaders about his leadership amid a surge in shootings as his strategic plan remained in the works. Now, with violent and property crime down and a series of initiatives launched to address community concerns and improve police procedures, council members encouraged Batts to keep moving the department forward.

At least five undocumented immigrants U.S. officials recently deported back to their homes in Honduras turned up dead at the morgue in San Pedro Sula, the Los Angeles Times reported . According to other news accounts, the victims ranged in age from 12 to 18, and all five had died of gunshot wounds. The director of the morgue speculated the killings were the work of criminal gangs in retribution for the children's refusal to become members or pay protection money to the thugs who terrorized their neighborhood.

As the Maryland Renaissance Festival prepares to open for its 2014 season on Saturday in Crownsville, hearings are looming on the festival's proposal for a future move to Lothian. The festival is seeking zoning approval to move to a farm in Lothian. Anne Arundel County's administrative hearing officer denied the festival the zoning approvals it needed. The festival appealed to the county's Board of Appeals, which has scheduled six nights of hearings for the case. The first hearing will be held from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Sept.

The Sun is again offering a free fax broadcast of schedules for Maryland General Assembly committee hearings. To use this service, you must have a fax machine that can answer automatically. Hearing schedules will be transmitted over the weekend for the following week's hearings. To sign up for the service, call 410-783-1800 and enter code 7575.

Hearings began Monday on claims by BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport's former acting fire chief that he was unfairly terminated earlier this year after raising concerns about racial bias within the department. Gregory Lawrence, who is black, said he believes the Maryland Aviation Administration terminated him in March without due process after he raised concerns about an all-white recruit class. He said he feels the decision also was in retaliation for a previous discrimination case he brought against the department more than a decade ago. "I want to go back to work," Lawrence said Monday morning, prior to the start of several days of hearings scheduled in the case at the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings in Hunt Valley.